Privacy Policy

Last updated: 30 August 2026

The short version: SymptomPause collects nothing. No accounts, no analytics, no servers. Your searches, trigger words, and stats never leave your device.

What SymptomPause does

SymptomPause is a browser extension that pauses symptom-related searches and blocks selected health websites, to help people with health anxiety reduce compulsive checking.

Data we collect

None. SymptomPause has no server, no accounts, no analytics, and no tracking of any kind. We never see your searches, your browsing, your trigger words, or anything else.

Data stored on your device

To work, SymptomPause keeps a small amount of data in your browser's local extension storage (chrome.storage.local), on your device only:

• Your settings: trigger words, blocked sites, allowed sites, strict mode.
• Anonymous counters: how many searches were paused or continued per day, used to show your streak.
• Optional pattern counts: which trigger words caused pauses and at what hour of day, stored as counts (for example, "heart: 12"). Your actual search text is never saved. You can turn this off, or clear it, in Settings.
• Queries you marked as "not a health search," so they aren't blocked again.

This data never leaves your browser. Uninstalling the extension deletes it.

Why the extension needs broad site access

SymptomPause asks for permission to read and change data on websites so that it can (a) check search queries on search engines before results load, and (b) redirect blocked health sites to the pause screen. This processing happens entirely on your device. No page content or browsing data is transmitted anywhere.

Third parties

We do not sell, share, or transmit any data to anyone, because we do not have any. The extension makes no network requests of its own.

Children

SymptomPause is not directed at children under 13 and collects no data from anyone.

Changes

If this policy ever changes (for example, if an optional sync feature is added), the change will be described here and in the extension's update notes before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions? Email suhaybdahir44@gmail.com or see the contact page.